Page 67 of All Because I Found You

Ryder ran into the emergency room, and visions from a similar night so long ago flooded his mind. He tried to ignore the onslaught of memories, but he was too weak. Blood had dripped down his face into his eyes, but he could still make out the doctors’ faces that grabbed onto his gurney and rushed him into emergency surgery. He remembered the bright lights above before the world faded in and out, eventually going completely black. He remembered waking up and asking for his parents and Callie. Remembered the faces of the nurses when they told him he had been the only one to survive.

He remembered praying at night to die so he could see his family again. Remembered the tears that streamed down his face when Gene came to visit. The anger that had erupted inside him when over and over people told him it wasn’t his fault.

He remembered the emptiness consuming him. The anger, regret and shame. He remembered his life never being the same.

History was repeating itself, and he was helpless to stop it. Raelyn was being rushed in on a gurney and all he could do was watch.

His heart slammed against his chest, which surprised him because his heart wasn’t apart of him anymore. No. It was on that gurney with Raelyn and their unborn baby.

When she told him she was pregnant, every awful thought had run through his mind of why he couldn’t have a kid. But now that he was teetering on the edge of losing that child, he wanted it more than anything else in the world.

That baby, their baby, was two equal parts of them, and he couldn’t think of anything more beautiful. He couldn’t lose either of them.

He paced the long corridor of the emergency room, waiting for answers. Waiting for anyone to tell him that Raelyn and the baby were okay. But no one was coming. The doors stayed shut, and his hope was waning more and more by the second.

His body shook with unshed tears, but he needed to be strong. He needed to be the man he should have been when Raelyn told him. Instead, he did what he always did. He freaked out and withdrew into himself.

The door opened and Ryder jumped to attention, but two nurses continued walking.

“Excuse me!” he called. “Can you tell me anything about the woman they brought in from the car accident?”

“We’re sorry. We don’t know anything. You can check with the desk.”

He nodded, knowing there was no point. No one else had come out of that area. They were all still with Raelyn. Maybe that was a good thing. Or maybe it wasn’t. Why wouldn’t anyone tell him?

More and more people filled the waiting room, spilling over into his space. It had been so long since Ryder had been surrounded by so many people. But as uneasy as it usually made him feel, it didn’t matter right now. Raelyn was the only thing on his mind.

His hands shook, heart continued to batter his chest and the awful memories wouldn’t stop assaulting him. Except now he kept seeing Raelyn’s lifeless face in his mind.

A flurry of sound came from the desk, and Ryder watched as a crowd of people hurried toward the woman behind it.

“We’re looking for my cousin. My buddy Bobbie is an EMT he told me she was brought in. Is she okay? Can we see her?”

Ryder knew they wouldn’t get any answers, and he stood there watching as the woman behind the desk told them to wait in the waiting room. She pointed at him, though, and Raelyn’s cousin’s eyes narrowed while he led the parade toward him.

“Who the fuck are you?” her cousin asked as he approached.

There were so many of them, and every single pair of eyes locked on his. They all had the same dark hair and brown eyes. The same determined stance.

“Ryder. My name’s Ryder.” The words were like glass against his throat.

“Bobbie said she was pregnant. Are you the asshole who knocked her up?”

“Pregnant!” a woman who looked like an older Raelyn exclaimed. She did the sign of the cross and held her chest.

“I…uh…” Every part of his body was trying to turn him toward the door and get him the hell out of there and back to the silence and seclusion of his house. But this was Raelyn, and he couldn’t leave her. Not when he stupidly let her take off the way she did, especially without telling her the truth.

He was scared. So fucking scared.

Scared he would be a terrible father. Scared that he would fail his kid the same way he failed Callie and his parents. And now the same way he failed Raelyn. He should have stopped her. Should have protected her. He was making all the same mistakes again.

He forced the negative thoughts out of his mind and met her cousin’s gaze straight on. He expected the guy to stare at his scars, but it was as if he didn’t even see them. “I am, but I love her, and you can throw a punch, kick my ass, but I’m not leaving. Drag me outside, and I’ll fight my way back in here. Nothing and no one will keep me from her.”

Her cousin’s fists unraveled at his sides, and he stepped forward, holding out his hand. Ryder hesitated for a second, then grabbed the offered hand.

“Sergio,” he said. “This is Raelyn’s mom, Adelina, her dad, Rory, and the rest of the brood. Welcome to the family. Now tell us what the fuck happened.”

Ryder told Raelyn’s family about the accident, leaving out the fight about the baby and just saying they had a disagreement, and she left in a huff.

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